Field
The described embodiments relate to techniques for providing feedback to a user of a portable electronic device, including providing visual feedback to a user about their interaction with a user interface on a touch-sensitive display in a portable electronic device.
Related Art
The versatility and capabilities of portable electronic devices is increasing their popularity. For example, many portable electronic devices includes touch-sensitive displays that allow users to dynamically interact with the portable electronic devices. In addition, many portable electronic devices can wirelessly communicate with other electronic devices, which allow the portable electronic devices to rapidly and conveniently communicate information. In particular, the portable electronic devices may include networking subsystem that implement a network interface, such as: a wireless network described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, Bluetooth® (from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group of Kirkland, Wash.), and/or another type of wireless network. The combination of a user interface on a touch-sensitive display and wireless-communication capability can allow users to use portable electronic devices to remotely control another electronic device.
However, it can be difficult to use a user interface on a touch-sensitive display. For example, many touch-sensitive displays do not provide tactile or non-visual sensory feedback to a user of a portable electronic device. Consequently, the user may need to look at or directly view the user interface on the touch-sensitive displays in order to correctly activate a strike area of a given virtual icon in the user interface. When this is not possible, the user may make errors, such as activating the wrong strike area or missing a desired strike area. These errors will frustrate users, which can degrade the user experience.